The present invention relates to a fax machine, and more particularly to such a fax machine which has a paper/document common output path. The fax machine can be a jet-injection type or laser type fax machine.
In a regular fax machine, as shown in FIG. 7, document D is fed through a document feeding cylinder 90, a document-transfer cylinder 91 and a scanner 92, and paper P is fed through a paper-transfer cylinder 93. Because document D and paper P are delivered through a respective path, much mechanical parts are needed. This complicated arrangement requires much installation space, and greatly increase the manufacturing cost of the fax machine.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive fax machine, which has a document/paper common output path. According to the present invention, the fax machine comprises a paper input unit for holding and feeding sheets of paper, the paper input unit comprising a paper tray having a guide edge for guiding out sheets of paper; a document input unit for holding and feeding document, the document input unit comprising a document tray having a guide edge for guiding out document; a paper distribution unit, the paper distribution unit comprising a document input passage and a paper input passage, the document input passage having a document inlet and a document outlet at an opposite end, the document inlet being aimed at the guide edge of the document tray, the paper input passage having a paper inlet at one end and a paper outlet at an opposite end, the paper inlet being aimed at the guide edge of the paper tray; a scanner unit, the scanner unit comprising a sheet-transfer cylinder and an impression cylinder arranged in parallel and turned relative to each other to transfer document/sheet of paper through a sheet-transfer gap defined between the sheet-transfer cylinder and the impression cylinder, and a scanning mechanism for scanning document; and a switching means operated to turn the paper distribution unit, causing the paper distribution to shift the position of the document outlet and paper outlet. When the fax machine is at the document scanning mode, the paper distribution unit is switched by the switching means to a first position where the document outlet is aimed at the sheet-transfer gap between the sheet-transfer cylinder and the impression cylinder. When the fax machine is at a printing mode, the paper distribution unit is switched by the switching means to a second position where the paper outlet is aimed at the sheet-transfer gap between the sheet-transfer cylinder and the impression cylinder. The switching means can be moved through a rotary motion or vertically reciprocating motion to shift the position of the paper distribution unit, by means of the operation of an electromagnetic valve, cam, or equivalent mechanism. Preferably, a cam is provided and turned to shift the paper distribution unit between the first position and the second position.